Scuttle flies (Diptera: Phoridae) of subterranean habitats in Slovakia: a review and a case study

Abstract

During biospeleological surveys in Slovakia in the past, phorid flies were usually overlooked or ignored. Only one species, Triphleba antricola (Schmitz, 1918), has been reported from some caves in Slovakia. The first more comprehensive study of phorid flies of subterranean ecosystems in Slovakia is herein presented. During the investigation of seven caves and one gallery located in the Malé Karpaty Mts. in 2021 a total of nine species of Phoridae were documented. They represent the three genera Borophaga (1 sp.), Triphleba (2 spp.) and Megaselia (6 spp.). Triphleba antricola, distributed along all depths and environmental gradients between entrances and the deepest parts of the caves and the gallery, represents the most common and abundant troglophilous species. Other species probably represent only temporal visitors of the shallow spaces in caves. The position, dimensions and condition of the cave/mine entrances are probably the limits of the species events of scuttle flies in caves. Megaselia breviterga (Lundbeck, 1920) and Megaselia vernalis (Wood, 1909) are recorded in Slovakia for the first time.